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Hilda Solis

A July 9 New York Times editorial calls for home care aides to receive minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act. As the Times notes, in 2007, the Supreme Court upheld a 1975 labor regulation that defined home care aides as “companions,” but that regulation can be reversed anytime by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. This is the second editorial the Times has published on the issue; the first appeared in January 2009. Read the full story

In response to a lawsuit filed by SEIU, a federal judge has blocked the State of California from reducing the wages of home care workers by up to $2.00 per hour.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken issued an injunction on June 25 to halt the wage cuts, ordering the state to continue paying workers for its In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program up to $12.10 in wages and benefits. Without this injunction, tens of thousands of IHSS workers would have seen their wages shrink from $11.50 to $9.50 per hour beginning July 1, the first day of the state’s new fiscal year.

The injunction states that before California can make such cuts, it must first offer an analysis of how they would impact the efficiency, economy, quality, and accessibility of care (“State vows to pursue home care workers’ wage cuts,” Mercury News, June 26). Read the full story

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)

Fifteen U.S. Democratic senators have sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Hilda Solis urging the extension of federal wage and hour laws to cover the nation’s estimated 1.5 million home health-care workers.

Background

Domestic workers were excluded from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that was enacted in 1938 to ensure a minimum standard of living for workers through the provision of a minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections. Read the full story

On May 26, after months of debate among state lawmakers, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver signed into law a bill that will impose a quality assurance fee on all for-profit and nonprofit nursing homes in order to leverage matching federal money. The state’s direct-care workers are among those who are expected to benefit. Read the full story

Logo from a North Carolina campaign advocating for paid sick day legislation.

As panic spread last month about a potential swine flu epidemic, Americans were advised to stay home if they were feeling ill. But for millions of workers who receive no paid sick days — including large percentages of direct-care workers — taking a day off from work can be a hard decision as it directly affects their income.

For example, 55 percent of the nation’s full-time personal and home care aides were not offered sick days in 2006 (“Women and Paid Sick Days: Crucial for Family Well-Being,” IWPR, 2007, pdf).

In response to this problem,  Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) have introduced the Healthy Families Act, which would allow  workers up to seven paid sick days a year to recover from their own illness, to care for a sick family member, or to seek diagnostic and preventative care.  Several states and cities have introduced similar bills. Read the full story

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An innovative program in Pennsylvania is giving state officials a firsthand look at the daily lives of direct-care workers and broadcasting the message that these workers suffer from low wages and a lack of health insurance.

Read the full story